This page contains references and links to all electronic communications among City staff, and between City staff, Norfolk Southern, and the community regarding the establishment and operation of the Ethanol Transloading Facility. The communications, furnished in response to requests made under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, cover the period from June 20, 2006 at 8 a.m. to May 29, 2008, at 5 p.m.

E-mail addresses and telephone numbers have been redacted to protect the privacy of residents and of City staff whose home and mobile phone numbers were included on the communications. To contact City officials or staff, please use the links on the left side of this page, or Contact Us.

Re: Fw: Ethanol Transfer Station at the Piggy Back Railyard on Metro Road

To: Robert Rodriguez

Subject: Re: Fw: Ethanol Transfer Station at the Piggy Back Railyard on Metro Road

From: Russell Middleton/Alex

Date: 29 Nov 2007 18:37:44

Bcc:

Cc:

Thanks for the info Bob. I'm glad someone
knew what was going on. How do we go about getting an orientation and how
can we get a tour of the Balto facility? This would help in the education
of those who might have to respond there. I will put this out to the B/C's
and haz-mat team.

Robert Rodriguez/Alex

11/29/2007 03:16 PM

To

Russell Middleton/Alex@Alex

cc

John Catlett/Alex@Alex

Subject

Re: Fw: Ethanol Transfer Station at
the Piggy Back Railyard on Metro RoadLink

Russell,We recently became aware of this and
met with them a couple of weeks ago. We requested they contact ops
for an orientation. They have also offered to have staff tour a
similar facility in Baltimore which we thought should be a joint trip between
Code and Ops.As far as permits or plans, this is
railroad property and is exempt from local regulation. They are installing
additional hydrants and foam for Fire Department use. We were preparing
to contact you about this.Attached is a brief that AFM Furr prepared.Bob
Robert B. Rodriguez
Chief Fire Marshal
Alexandria Fire Department / Code Enforcement
301 King Street, Room 4200
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

FYI ..... Fairfax companies brought
this to our attention at the preplan drill the other day. What direction
do think we should take on this? We probably need to get code involved
in this as well. At this time Capt. Cross and myself will be putting
together a down and dirty plan in case we need to address and incident
at the Metro road area.

During the 5001 Eisenhower Ave building familiarization drill this afternoon,
the companies from Fairfax were talking about an ethanol transfer station
that is being built in the CSX piggy back railyard off of Metro Road. They
said that rail cars of ethanol will be brought to this site in Alexandria,
and the product off-loaded into tucks to be transported to the Newington
fuel storage area. According to the Fairfax group, this site will
transfer fuel from rail cars for up to 40 tractor trailers per day.

It seems that they are aware of this development because it has an impact
on Fairfax's service delivery in Newington and on the transportation corridor
in Fairfax; and, they have been planning and training for this hazard.

If this development is actually happening, there are numerous operational
issues that need to be addressed:

The water supply along Metro Rd is very
limited. The distance from the front gate of the rail yard to the
end of the open paved space is about 3,000 feet with no hydrants on the
property. Plus, the closest hydrant is another 400 feet away at the
entrance to the Metro parking lot

Ethanol burns as a true alcohol fire
(no visible flame, no smoke), which needs additional awareness training.
It is highly flammable with a flammable range of 3.3% - 19%, vapor
density is 1.03 (which is slightly heavier than air), the specific gravity
in 0.8% (which will float on water)

Spills will quickly enter Backlick Run,
which runs adjacent to the rail yard and abuts Cameron Station, then flows
into Cameron Run to the Potomac River. A large spill could send burning
flammable liquids with an invisible flame and no smoke down the waterway
next the Cameron Station, under Eisenhower Ave and the Beltway.

A major spill will require a significant
amount of alcohol-resistant foam to be delivered to cover the spill to
prevent a fire. How much foam is needed to handle a spill from a
rail car? Where can we get this amount of foam? How will we
deliver this amount of foam. Where do we get the water necessary
to create the amount of foam needed?

What is the transportation corridor
from moving the trucks from Alexandria to Newington?

What contingent plans has Fairfax made
for handling an ethanol related incident?

How many rail cars of ethanol will be
stored on the property at any time?

How much water is needed to cool a rail
car of ethanol to prevent a BLEVE should there be a fire impinging on a
rail car?

What evacuations would be necessary
for a small, medium, large, or catastrophic release spill at this site?

What training, enhanced equipment or
tools will we be acquiring to be able to be able to handle emergencies
that could arise from having this facility in the City?